"Meanwhile, for those of us still on the scene, the Buddha indicates
a middle way or, as he is said to have said, "as the ocean has only one
flavor, the flavor of salt, so has my doctrine only one flavor  the
flavor of emancipation from sorrow," which comes from"
thirst" or desire. The rest of what he teaches is our old friend
ethics, familiar to all and ignored by most. Easterner and Westerner
alike."

Gore
Vidal  foreword toThailand
Seven Days in the Kingdom
William
Warren

"It is our contention that the rediscovery of Asian philosophy,
particularly of the Buddhist tradition, is a second renaissance in the
cultural history of the West, with the potential to be equally important as
the discovery of Greek thought in the European renaissance. (Asian
philosophy) never became a purely abstract occupation. It was tied to
specific disciplined methods for knowing different methods of
meditation."

Francisco Varela

The Embodied Mind

Avoid what is evil; do what is good; purify the mind  this is the
teaching of the Awakened One."

The
Pali Canon (500 250 B.C.)

" for increasingly I feel that men of perception throughout the
world today are turning their eyes toward Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy,
particularly those branches of it which continue to flourish and retain
their vitality in the present age, in search of answers to the fundamental
questions of human life."

Daisaku IkedaBuddhism
the First Millennium

"Renounce the craving for the past, renounce the craving for the
future, renounce the craving of what is in between, and cross to the
opposite shore."

-Buddha

"No thought, no reflection, no analysis,

No cultivation, no intention;

Let it settle itself"

(Six Precepts of Tilopa)

"If it (the Truth) is already manifest, what's the use of
meditation? And if it is hidden, one is just measuring darkness. Mantras and
tantras, meditation and concentration,

They are all a cause of self-deception,

Do not defile in contemplation thought that is pure in its own nature,

But abide in the bliss of yourself and cease those torments.

Whatever you see, that is it,

In front, behind, in all the ten direction.

Even today let your master make an end of delusion!

The nature of the sky is originally clear,

But by gazing and gazing the sight becomes obscured."

Saraha (10th Century)

"Buddhism was not a doctrine for a privileged elite; it was a
religion for "the people" for "the many (bahujana)."
In practice, it appealed mostly to the upper classes and to intellectuals,
but in principle it was open to anybody, and nobody, whatever his or her
caste, was excluded. For the first time in history, somebody had envisaged a
religious program that was not confined to a single group, but was intended
for the whole of humanity. This was no esoteric truth, like that preached by
the sages of the Upanishads. It was out in the open, in the towns,
the new cities and along the trade routes. Whenever they heard the Dhamma,
people started to throng into the Sangha, which became a force to be
reckoned with in the Ganges plain. The members of the new Order were known
as "The Ordained Followers of the Teacher from Sakka," but they
called themselves simply the Union of Bikkus (Bikkhu-Sangha). People
who joined found that they had "woken up" to whole regions of
their humanity which had hitherto lain dormant; a new social and religious
reality had come into being."

Karen Armstrong

Buddha

"The most influential of all India's philosophers, the
Buddha (who died around 483 BC), did not claim to be a god and was not
interested in being the head of a sect. In northern India, he was absorbed
into religious life by being looked on as the ninth of the ten incarnations
of Vishnu, and most ordinary laymen regarded his teachings as one of many
faiths, not mutually exclusive, all being worthy of respect. Buddha did not
attack other religions, nor was he persecuted. Goodwill, compassion and
friendliness to all living beings was his message: 'Just as a mother, as
long as she lives, cares for her only child, so should a man feel
all-embracing love to all human beings. He should feel boundless love to all
the world above, below and across, unrestrained, without enmity. Standing,
walking, sitting or lying down.....he should be firm in the mindfulness of
love. For this is what men call the Sublime Mood.' Buddha's respect for
disagreement was such that he did not require a vow of obedience even from
monks, who had to be unanimous before taking a decision."

Theorodre Zeldin

An Intimate History of Humanity

"When I attained Absolute Perfect Enlightenment, I attained
absolutely nothing. That is why it is called Absolute Perfect
Enlightenment."

Buddha (Diamond Sutra)

Let all beings be happy! Weak or strong, of high, middle, or low estate,
small or great, visible or invisible, near or far away, alive or still to be
born-may they all be entirely happy! Let nobody lie to anybody or despise
any single being anywhere. May nobody wish harm to any single creature, out
of anger or hatred! Let us cherish all creatures, as a mother her only
child! May our loving thoughts fill the whole world, above, below,
across-Without limit; a boundless goodwill toward the whole world,
unrestricted, free of hatred and enmity!"

(From the Pali Canon)

"If a man commits a meritorious deed, let him perform it again and
again; let him develop a longing for doing good; happiness is the outcome of
the accumulation of merit. Even the wrongdoer finds some happiness as long
as the (fruit of) his misdeed does not mature; but when it does mature, then
he sees its evil results. Even the doer of good deeds knows evil (days) so
long as his merit has not matured; but when his merit has fully matured,
then he sees the happy results of his meritorious deeds."

-Buddha

"Remember me as one who has woken up."

Buddha

**************************

Book: "The Complete Guide to Buddhist America" edited by Don
Morreale

Book: "An End To Suffering: The Buddha in the World" by Pankaj
Mishra

Book: "Buddhism Is Not What You Think: Finding Freedom Beyond
Beliefs" by Steve Hagen

Book: "The Search For The Buddha: The Men Who Discovered India's
Lost Religion" by Charles Allen

Book: "The Feminine Face of Buddhism" by Gill Farrer-Halls

Book: "The British Discovery of Buddhism" by Philip C. Almond

Book: " The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and
Western Culture" by Stephen Batchelor

Book: "A Buddhist Critique of the Christian Concept of God" by
Gunapala Dharmasiri

Book: Christianity and the World Religions" by Hans Kung

Book: "Buddhism" by Bernard Faure

Book: "Buddhism: The Religion of No-Religion" by Alan Watts

Book: "Buddhism" by Karen Armstrong

""The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: a new translation of
Samyutta Nilkaya"